Read & Discuss
#3 |
Popular:
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Summary
Oh the days of high school... and its ever present hierarchy of popularity that so often mirrors Maya's scale.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 -1 -2 -3 |
MY SCHOOL'S POPULARITY SCALE
(From patricians to plebeians) Volleyball Girls Football Faction Rich Gang Members (including More-Popular Girls Who Dress Seductively) Band Geeks Choir Geeks Goth Art Chicks Less-Popular Girls Who Dress Seductively Pregnant Teens (We have two right now, a seventh and an eighth grader.) Computer Geeks (There are hardly any.) Library Nerds (who read constantly and love Japanese comics The Ignored (sixth graders) Social Outcasts Teachers Substitute Teachers |
(Van Wagenen, 19 - 20)
What's it like to be popular? Is it as great as it seems? What does it take to be popular? Within the memoir Popular, Maya Van Wagenen conducts a social experiment for the ages! Here is part of the official summary of Popular located on the publisher's website.
Can curlers, girdles, Vaseline, and a strand of pearls help a shy girl become popular? Maya Van Wagenen is about to find out.
Stuck near the bottom of the social ladder at “pretty much the lowest level of people at school who aren’t paid to be here,” Maya has never been popular. But before starting eighth grade, she decides to begin a unique social experiment: spend the school year following a 1950s popularity guide, written by former teen model Betty Cornell. |
(Van Wagenen, 33)
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Professional Reviews
Kirkus Review
" Teens will readily identify with her candid descriptions of social dynamics at her middle school. Many of the scenarios that arise from her adherence to the suggestions in Betty Cornell’s Teen-Age Popularity Guide are effectively played to comic effect, such as wearing a girdle or pearls and white gloves. Vignettes about her life, including her grief over the death of a beloved teacher, her horror at hearing the news of a boy killed at a nearby school after he brings in a pellet gun and her excitement over speaking to Betty Cornell by telephone, provide balance.
A fascinating and unusual slice-of-life work whose humor will best be appreciated by younger teens." |
New York Times
"What makes Van Wagenen’s book more affecting than other middle-school survival guides is that not all her problems can be fixed with the right lipstick and better posture. She lives in Brownsville, Tex., a troubled border town. From his office window, her father can see fires from the drug war in Mexico, and that conflict sometimes comes as close as her school parking lot. One of Van Wagenen’s sisters died during infancy; another struggles with autism. You can’t help admiring her positive attitude in the face of these real-world challenges, just as you can’t help rooting for her when she talks to her crush while wearing a 1950s-style straw hat and gloves or when she decides to sit, uninvited, with a different social group at lunch every day and learns how similar everyone is." - Maude Apatow
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My Thoughts
Maya Van Wagenen begins this narrative nonfiction with a line her best friend would say... a line that oh so many young girls can definitely relate to... "School is the armpit of life" (16).
While it's the age old struggle of popularity, body image, and finding confidence in one's self, readers can definitely relate to Maya's experiences as a teenager and as a social outcast looking to finally fit in. Along with being relatable to readers and their experiences, I found this memoir to be rather enjoyable. I appreciated how Van Wagenen weaved humor into the narrative.
While it's the age old struggle of popularity, body image, and finding confidence in one's self, readers can definitely relate to Maya's experiences as a teenager and as a social outcast looking to finally fit in. Along with being relatable to readers and their experiences, I found this memoir to be rather enjoyable. I appreciated how Van Wagenen weaved humor into the narrative.
Connecting Popular with Fiction Readers
I believe that fans of YA fiction would especially enjoy Popular. As a memoir, Van Wagenen's writing style mirrors the narrative style of fiction works. Along with style, her voice is one that demands to be heard. It is a voice that will surely interest many YA fiction readers. The many struggles that Van Wagenen faced in the walls of her high school, are similar to those of the characters within contemporary YA fiction and similar to the readers themselves.
As I was reading this memoir, I could not help but think about what a great teen movie this would make, with humor reminiscent of The Duff, Mean Girls, or She's the Man. Little did I know... Maya Van Wagenen's memoir has indeed led to a movie deal! How exciting! Within an article published on USA TODAY, Lindsay Deutsch writes about Maya, Popular, and that movie deal.
On a side note... Popular was a finalist for YALSA's 2015 Excellence in Nonfiction Award.
As I was reading this memoir, I could not help but think about what a great teen movie this would make, with humor reminiscent of The Duff, Mean Girls, or She's the Man. Little did I know... Maya Van Wagenen's memoir has indeed led to a movie deal! How exciting! Within an article published on USA TODAY, Lindsay Deutsch writes about Maya, Popular, and that movie deal.
On a side note... Popular was a finalist for YALSA's 2015 Excellence in Nonfiction Award.
Popular in the Classroom
How might educators use this book in class? Unlike The Symphony for the City of the Dead and The Family Romanov, Popular would be more difficult to fit into traditional classroom curriculum. However, I could see this memoir used in both psychology and sociology classes, especially if students are studying about the social and psychological implications of popularity.
This memoir may be more suitable outside of school... and straight into the library! Popular would be a fine addition to any library's collection of nonfiction works for youth. It would also be a GREAT read for a book club comprised of teen girls.
This memoir may be more suitable outside of school... and straight into the library! Popular would be a fine addition to any library's collection of nonfiction works for youth. It would also be a GREAT read for a book club comprised of teen girls.
Additional Resources
- Readers interested in learning more about Popular and the author herself... look no further than Maya Van Wagenen's website.
- Teen Vogue, a popular magazine for teens and young adults, featured an article on Maya that readers may enjoy.
- Also, here is an interesting little video about the memoir featuring the author.
Works Cited
- Apatow, Maude. "Grand Experiment: Maya Van Wagenen's 'Popular.'" New York Times. 9 May 2014. Web.
- Deutsch, Lindsay. "Who's 'Popular' now? Teen's Memoir Leads to Movie Deal." USA TODAY Network. 1 May 2014. Web.
- "Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek." Kirkus Reviews. 31 March 2014. Web.
- Wagenen, Maya Van. Popular: A Memoir: How a Geek in Pearls Discovered the Secret to Confidence. New York: Speak, 2015. eIndiana Digital Consortium. eBook.